Cheltenham punters bet €280m with Paddy Power owner Flutter

Racing fans bet more than €280 million with Flutter-owned bookies Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Betfair throughout last week’s Cheltenham Festival.

Dublin-based Flutter calculates that the three online betting operations handled 37 million individual wagers during the four-day jumps jamboree.

The group’s bookies took in “well over £250 million sterling (€284 million) in stakes” over the course of the meeting.

Despite victories for 10 favourites, headed by the Willie Mullins-trained Galopin des Champs in the meeting’s showpiece, Friday’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, Flutter says it ended the week in the black.

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However, the three bookmakers did not have it all their own way. Bets landed on Envoi Allen, Sire du Berlais and Stage Star, all on Thursday, cost them an unspecified “eight-figure sum”.

Meanwhile, a Paddy Power customer in Co Kildare netted €75,000 from a 20 cent lucky 63, a multiple bet on different horses in different combinations, that cost €12.60.

Dom Crosthwaite, Flutter’s chief trading officer, said the group offered a great customers proposition throughout a memorable festival.

“This was all made possible by our talented colleagues in Flutter UK and Ireland, who worked incredibly well to seamlessly manage over 37 million online bets across the week,” he said.